Thirty-four different cover songs were performed at CXCW 2014. So many of them were so very, very good, but we couldn’t resist a country version of Nine Inch Nails “Closer” by The Tonk Honkys. You know damn well that every time someone watches this video on YouTube that Trent Renznor gets a little twitch in the back of his neck. Twitch. Twitch.

How cool is it that not only can we host a festival online, but also that the world actually attends the festival? The internet age truly is amazing! We want to give a special award of gratitude to Tony Fitz of Dublin, Ireland, for organizing a bunch of Irish acts for a second consecutive CXCW Irish music showcase. Without the interwebs this wonderful Trans-Atlantic partnership would not be possible. Thanks for all of your work Tony, and we look forward to hearing from you and your friends next year!

This year at CXCW we received several videos of original songs dealing with important issues, be it a political issue, a natural disaster, self-harm, or the man keeping the little guy down. All of the songs were wonderful, but we felt like the best one was by John Radcliff discussing a recent chemical spill into a river near his home in West Virginia, thus poisoning of the water supply in Charleston. Based on today’s pop music some people may say that protest or activist music is dead, but we know that music with meaning is alive and well at CXCW.

Finley Hooper has been part of CXCW since it’s inception in 2011 when she was only four months old. This year we hear her singing and ukelele debut with an adorable version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It doesn’t hurt that her papa is the ridiculously talented Larry Hooper. Said once CXCW staffer, “I don’t even like kids, but, Jesus Christ, she is adorable.” Heart. Melted.

Is it a bad sitcom, or is it the intro to the video for Adam Dalton & the B-Sides? Hysterical! You may need some acting lessons, but your music is killer!

Runners Up: Three bands from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, used the same clever intro featuring cats in compromising positions and various couches strewn about. See Everybody Left, Sexweather, and Sweetleaf.

A bunch of oddball guitar-ish instruments caught our seeing eyeballs at this year’s festival, none stranger than Imperial Rooster’s own Kohrn Sirrup with his gourd guitar in the video for “Green Chile Warm Tortillas.” Very nice!

Despite the fact that we buried him on Sunday morning when most people are sleeping off their hangovers, Mark Piper and his merry band of miscreants killed it with an excellent drinking song called “You Gotta Get Up Early (If You Want To Drink All Day).” Excellent song and hysterical video!

Greater than ninety-five percent of the videos that we receive are made with a simple handheld camera. Most of us do not have mad editing skillz. This award is for our favorite lo-fi video. No editing here my friends! The winner is Michael Rank and Stag for what looks like an iPhone video from the back of a moving truck. Very cool!

Runners Up: Manitoba Rock N Rolla who told us that they used medical tape to hold their Kindle inside of their moving car, Huke Green bravely propping up his phone in the port-o-crapper, Not An Airplane with a GoPro camera on his guitar’s headstock (We’re actually surprised more people didn’t think of this technique).